7 Days; 7 Travel Stories

1. Score One For the Store-Front Travel Agency

For years, newspapers and travel industry analysts have been predicting the death of the high-street travel agent at the hands of the Internet and call centers. Figures from the Association of British Travel Agents suggest 1,400 agencies have closed in the past decade. But could the tide be changing?

Enter thetravelvillage, an online company that has opened a retail shop in the heart of London. Black Tomato, an upmarket tour operator which since its opening in 2005 has operated exclusively online and by phone, launched a store in Shoreditch, London, while web operator Medinland, a Mediterranean specialist, opened its first shop last month.

Clients want a luxury consulting service as a counterpoint to the Internet, says one store owner. At Black Tomato, for example, customers must make an appointment, but the shop will open till 9pm, has a bar, and every second month will be redecorated to reflect a different destination, with murals, projections and artifacts from the featured country. Guardian (UK)

2. Online Agencies Expand Overseas

Chief executives at Expedia, Priceline and Orbitz held sway at a summit in Los Angeles earlier in the week highlighting plans to capture the largest possible chunk of the burgeoning overseas travel market. Expedia saw 34 percent of its fourth-quarter bookings from international points of sale. The company has launched several partnership efforts in Asia. Orbitz, which became a publicly traded company last year, has focused aggressively on expansion in Europe, most notably by way of ebookers.com. Priceline operates a European hotel reservation service through several brands, including Activehotels.com and priceline.com.uk. The company also is an investor in an Asian travel service, which bears the name Priceline. Reuters

3. Eco-Vandals

Can you really travel "green"? Or should we just all stay at home? The International Ecotourism Society estimates that by 2020, there will be 1.56 billion people traveling internationally each year. That's a whole lot of flights, and a whole lot of carbon being blasted into the atmosphere. Not to mention what all those travelers will do when they arrive. So the trick is, how do you minimize your impact?

A lot of airlines now offer carbon offsets for a small fee, but the jury is out on their effectiveness. The Manchester Guardian's travel writer George Monbiot says buying offsets is, "like pushing the food around on your plate to create the impression you have eaten it". Of course one of the best ways to neutralize the effects of flying is not to fly at all. Even your choice of accommodations can help or harm the environment. How much water does your hotel or hostel use? Does it have a recycling program? Does it hire locals?

Water is another tough one. Consider the damage caused by purchasing drinking water in plastic bottles. It might seem handy but you never really think about what happens to those unbiodegradable bottles once you turf them when they're empty. Consider again the use of water resources when taking a shower and washing clothes. The average 18-hole golf course soaks up about the same amount of water per day as 100 Malaysian farmers would need to irrigate their crops.

One way to lower your impact on the environment is to travel independently rather than on package tours. The IES found that 80 per cent of money for all-inclusive package tours goes to airlines, hotels and other international companies. That doesn't leave much for the people you're actually visiting. Sydney Morning Herald

4. Less Bang For the Buck

The Taj Mahal has stopped accepting dollars for the entrance fee under a new edict from the Indian Ministry of Culture that also affects other national tourist sites. Americans must now pay 750 rupees, about $19 compared with $15 previously. Some tour operators say they have encountered newfound resistance to dollars in parts of Vietnam and Peru. Even in New York, some shops are encouraging payment in foreign currency. Several American tour operators now tack on a so-called currency surcharge of about 5 percent.

Nearly 60 percent of members of the USTOA serving Europe and Britain said their prices would increase up to 15 percent because of the weak dollar. Destination where the dollar has held its ground including Mexico, Argentina, Panama and Ecuador. NY Times

5. Property For Sale

138 acres of land just west of the "H" in the Hollywood hilltop sign. Asking price: $22 million. Property offers a stunning 360-degree panorama of the Los Angeles Basin and the San Fernando Valley. Howard Hughes once planned to build a love nest on the land for his then-paramour Ginger Rogers. Their relationship didn't last, and the property remained undeveloped and in the eccentric billionaire's trust for decades.

6. So What Movie Do You Want To Watch Tonight?

The top 10 list from The Lodge Net Interactive Corp, which supplies on-demand movies in about 9,300 hotels. Knocked Up, Borat, Night at the Museum, Wild Hogs, 300, The Bourne Ultimatum, Casino Royale, The Departed, Live Free or Die Hard, and Ghost Rider.

7. Insider’s Guide--Where The Celebs Like To Vacation

Portofino, on the north-west coast of the Italian Riviera.
Ile de Re, France, small Atlantic Ocean island connected by a bridge from La Rochelle.
The Fregate Island Private, a one-square-mile Indian Ocean island resort.
The Four Mile Beach in Port Douglas, Australia, which stands at the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and the World Heritage Daintree Rain forest.
The Mystique in the Caribbean, a 1400-acre Caribbean island and a vacation spot for the British royals like Prince William and Kate Middleton. Inside Hotels

Rich’s Weekend Reader is published by AndTyler222 Communications. All rights reserved. Information from various sources and mostly rewritten. andtyler222@verizon.net http://www.itinarod.com/